Crimping tools are used to attach electrical terminals to a wire by a process known as crimping so that the wire does not need to be soldered in order to electrically and mechanically couple it to an electrical device. Crimping tools are also commonly used for butt spicing wires together and capping the end of a wire. In order to crimp an electrical terminal to a wire, the insulation from the wire is stripped, and then the stripped wire is inserted in a metal ferrule or barrel that encloses the stripped wire and, typically, an insulated portion of the wire. A crimping tool then applies a compressive force to the barrel to press and permanently deform the barrel so that it is secured to the wire contained therein. This deformation process creates an electrically conductive and mechanically strong connection between the barrel and the stripped wire.
There are a number of crimping tools known in the art that can be used to crimp an electrical terminal to a wire. For example, manually operable crimping tools and crimping tools that employ an electric motor to drive the crimping tool are known in the art.
However, there is always a continual need to improve crimping tools so that they are more ergonomic, user friendly, and facilitate crimping in a variety of orientations. It would also be desirable that such crimping tools are adaptable for use with a variety of different crimping devices, and can crimp wires of various diameters.